With the arrests, police believe that they have busted a racket involved in cheating several other people in the past, according to the police.
According to the division, the accused have been identified as Chandra Prakash Rai, 33, of Batase of Khotang, Shree Prasad Rai, 34, of Chiprun of Khotang, Tikaram Syangbo, 30, of Shankarpur-5, Kathmandu, Tsering Tamang, 26, Kedar Lama aka Bikash, 32, Tara Bahadur Thing, 32, Man Bahadur Timilsina, 32, all from Sindhupalchowk district.
Currency notes of USD 50 and USD 1 and 16 mobile sets were seized from their possession. According to Inspector Govinda Panthi of Crime Division, the racket made bundles with one or two original currency on the top and bottom and stacking papers of similar shape and size in between.
"The accused would lure people seeking to exchange USD at a better rate through a circle of friends," he said, adding, "They asked such people to meet them at isolated places and fled immediately after handing bundles full of fake currencies.
The modus operandi came into police notice after Sujan Maharjan of Dhumbarahi was duped by the racket on the pretext of exchanging Rs 800,000. Following his complaints, police arrested the members of the racket from various places in Kathmandu on Monday. Among those rounded up, Chandra Prakash Rai was an NID informer.
According to police investigation, after Maharjan was duped by the racket, Rai presented himself as a police inspector and demanded Rs 50,000 from the victim to investigate the case.
He brought Maharjan under confidence by showing the photos of people involved in the racket.
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